Anderson County deputy charged with misconduct, fired

Anderson County deputy charged with misconduct, fired

ANDERSON - The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division has charged an Anderson County deputy with misconduct in office.

Deputy Shane Thompson is accused of being involved in "numerous unlawful drug transactions" while on duty for the Anderson County Sheriff's Office. Thompson was arrested late Monday afternoon following an interview with SLED agents.

He is in the Anderson County jail and has been fired from his job.

SLED spokeswoman Kathryn Richardson said that according to an arrest warrant, Thompson "did engage in numerous unlawful drug transactions" while on duty as a deputy sheriff between November 2010 and April 2012.

Richardson told the Independent Mail that Thompson, 34, is also accused of "providing law-enforcement-sensitive information to individuals not authorized to receive it."

The arrest warrant identifies the deputy by his full name, Ronald Shane Thompson.

Thompson's law enforcement career in the Upstate spans more than a decade, and includes time in Oconee County and at the Iva Police Department. He had worked at the Anderson County Sheriff's Office since January 2005.

Sheriff John Skipper said the charge against Thompson comes from allegations involving illegal drugs, but offered few other details, citing SLED's continuing investigation.

Skipper said Thompson had been the subject of an internal investigation at the sheriff's office for "more than a month." Skipper said the sheriff's office had received a complaint about Thompson, but declined to elaborate about the source of the complaint or the specifics of it.

Skipper said that as the sheriff's office was conducting its own personnel investigation, "it became clear that this needed to be a joint effort" with SLED.

Richardson said SLED had been investigating Thompson since Jan. 30. She said the state's investigation remains open.